Fate
by Paige Asylum
Summary: Sakura isn't as normal as she really seems. Sure she looks, acts, and basically is a normal teenager, but she has a secret even she isn't aware of.
1. Bed Rest

Japan, 2008, Tokyo

Summer vacation wasn't much in Japan. Sure there was swimming at the (not so) near beaches and rich kids could travel, their parents whisking them away to America, Paris, or China. But for Sakura, such a thing was not possible, especially this year.

Just two days ago she had gotten into a fight. It wasn't that she was a trouble maker, but that trouble always found her. More like every time Sakura was in the middle of doing something that would not be good to be found doing, and she was worried like heck at being caught, someone would find her. That was her problem, the thing that annoyed her the most about herself.

Sakura had ended up with a broken leg when another girl had pushed her off the bleachers. They had been having a mild disagreement, when suddenly the other girl got physical. There was no fist fight, cat fight, or any sort of fight, for it was over right when the girl shoved Sakura. The pain was unbearable and she was told to stay off it for a week, at least.

This meant that the poor child could not go to soccer camp. Except that Sakura wasn't all that disappointed. It had seemed like a great idea at the time, but as soon as she learned that the camp would be host far away, Sakura panicked. Her mom wasn't stable enough to leave for any length of time alone!

Sakura had been troubled with trying to figure out a way to get out of this camp that she had been very irritable. It was probably coincidence that the day Sakura finally thought of the perfect way to get out of the trip was the same day her plan was forced into action. Sure she hadn't thought of _how_ to make it happen… She had only thought that if she had a bad enough injury, like a broken leg, she would not be able to go, and her mom wouldn't be mad that she had wasted money. For injuries were _nearly_ avoidable.

Things like this often happened to her, her wishes coming true in odd ways. Most people called it coincidence, and it irked Sakura. She was a firm believer in fate, everything happens for a reason. There's no such thing as an accident, to her.


	2. Mr Sonoko & Ms Uri

When Sakura was finally off of bed rest, she took the recovered freedom to go about outside. The cast was reduced to a minor sprain's bandage, but still she was not allowed to play soccer. That didn't keep her from watching every game she could this summer. Be it live or on the tube, Sakura was there to view it.

Sakura would search the fields of Tokyo, looking for kids who were playing the game. She didn't care if they were good or cheating half the time; she just loved to watch. It was during one of these searches that she decided to go ahead and play.

The kids were begging her to join because they needed one more player. Since her foot hadn't hurt in a week, Sakura gave in pretty fast. That same day, a scout was taking a walk.

He would often pause and watch kids play along his usual jogging route, but most were too long or non-special for him to approach. Sakura was something else, though, something spectacular.

The scout watched the whole game from beginning to end, despite the fact that it went on till lunch. The man was amazed by Sakura's skill. She seemed to be at the right spot at the right time a lot. Every goal for her team was scored by her and the other team could hardly make it past her to the goal.

The man chuckled to himself as a weird thought occurred to him. He convinced himself that it was just a silly notion; she had a talent for soccer, that's all. She was really good though, maybe he should find out more about her. That way in later years he could scout her for his professional team.

Sakura played the whole game oblivious to the sweat-suit man who was watching her like a hawk its prey. That's how she was when she played, nothing mattered except what was on the field. If she had noticed the man, she would have freaked out and probably screwed up. Who wouldn't; a freaky man in a jogging suit, staring at them?! Yeah, thought so.

As it was, her eyes were glued to the ball, and her game was top-notch. Her body was refreshed and strong despite her absence. It was perfect, and Sakura felt such relief with each pass and score.

When finally the game was finished, Sakura walked off the field smiling. It quickly faded though, when the sweat-suit man intercepted her path. He wasn't looking his best to be doing this, and automatically Sakura didn't trust him.

"Hello, Miss. My name is Sonoko, James Sonoko. I watched you play and found you to be one of the best soccer players I've seen. I would like to know your name, so I can come to more games that you play. If you stay this good till you're older, well, we'll see about getting you onto a professional team," the sweat-suit man said. He smiled sweetly at Sakura and though his name sounded familiar, she couldn't place what for.

At the mention of a possible team spot, Sakura's eyes lit up and her smile returned. This was her dream, but she didn't want to tell him her name. "My name's Daite Uri," she lied through her smile. The man seemed to take it, and simply handed her a business card before he walked off.

Sakura took the quick way home, dreading the idea of Sonoko following her home. As soon as she was in her room and all the doors locked up to there, she finally looked at the card. It simply said:

James Sonoko

scout

It also had a weird emblem in the upper left hand corner, but Sakura passed it off as being his team's logo.


End file.
